The document discusses various types of elections in the United States including primary elections, general elections, and presidential elections. It describes the electoral college system and explains that three recent presidential elections resulted in the winner of the popular vote not winning the electoral college. The document also covers congressional races, voter turnout rates, and some common reasons why people do not vote.

1. Voting and Elections

2. Electorate- citizens eligible to vote Mandate- a command, indicated by an electorate's votes, for the elected officials to carry out their platforms Did GWB have a mandate?

3. Types of Elections Primary Election- Election in which voters decide which of the candidates within a party will represent the party in the general election Closed Primary- a primary election in which only a party’s registered voters are eligible to vote Open Primary- a primary in which party members, independents and sometimes members of the other party are allowed to vote (crossover voting- participation in the primary of a party with which the voter is not affiliated)

5. Runoff primary- a second primary election between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in the first primary Raiding- an organized attempt by voters of one party to influence the primary results of the other party Nonpartisan primary- a primary used to select candidates regardless of party affiliation General Election- election in which voters decide with candidates will actually fill elective public offices

6. Initiative, Referendum, Recall

7. Initiative- an election that allows citizens to propose legislation (as opposed to voting for candidates) and submit it to the state electorate for popular vote- need a certain number of signatures on petitions supporting the proposal Referendum- an election whereby the state legislature submits proposed legislation to the state’s voters approval Recall- voters can remove an incumbent from office by popular vote (very rare)

8. Presidential Elections State party organizations use several types of primary elections or caucuses to election national convention delegates: Winner take all primary- candidate who wins the most votes in a state secures all of the state’s delegates (Democrats do not permit this, while GOP prefers this way) Proportional representation primary- candidates who secure a threshold % of votes are awarded delegates in proportion to the number of popular votes won. (Democrats favor this system)- lengthens the primary race Beauty Contest- serves as an indication of popular support for the conventions to consider as they choose actual delegates Caucus- party members meet in small groups throughout a state to select the party’s delegates to the national convention

9. Electoral College

10. Electoral College- representative so f each state who cast the final ballots that actually elect a president – was a result of a compromised between Framers who argued for selection of the president by the Congress, and those who favored selection by direct popular election. Elector- member of the electoral college chosen by methods determined in each state 1876,1888,2000- Popular vote winner did not win Electoral College In 1824 John Quincy Adams received neither the popular vote nor the Electoral College vote and was appointed President by the House of Representatives.

11. Congressional Races Incumbency Advantage- already holding a public office (more $$, more free media) Redistricting- Every 10 years, all congressional lines are redrawn- 435 seats Gerrymandering- legislative process through which the majority party in each statehouse tries to assure that the maximum number of representatives from its political party can be elected to congress through the redrawing of legislative districts Mid term elections- take place in the middle of a presidential term

12. Voter Turnout Turnout- the proportion of the voting age public that votes Education- people who vote are usually more educated than nonvoters Income- people who vote tend to have a higher income than nonvoters Age- voters tend to be older than 30 Race and Ethnicity- Whites tend to vote more than do African Americans South has a lower turnout than the rest of the country

13. Why don’t people vote?

14. Too Busy Difficulty of Registrations- those who register are more likely to vote Out of town – difficulty of absentee voting Not interested Illness or emergency Forgot Transportation problem Bad weather Refused Didn’t like the candidates